


Sleeptalking

by lawless



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: M/M, Nightmares, Romance, Sleep Disturbance, Slice of Life, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-20
Updated: 2012-06-20
Packaged: 2017-11-08 04:17:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/439072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawless/pseuds/lawless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, the past -- or present -- comes back to haunt them. Over the years, they find different ways to cope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleeptalking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kirathaune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirathaune/gifts).



> Written for Kirathaune for the prompt _393, talking in your sleep_ , and beta-reviewed by Whymzycal.

After Sanzo freed the bratty monkey-child whose voice invaded his thoughts, he thought the little shit would know enough to run gratefully away. He hadn’t counted on the kid forming an attachment right off the bat. Nor was he prepared for the depth of the boy’s hero worship. The Sanbutsushin’s denial of the request to shift his pint-sized burden somewhere else only added insult to injury. 

The boy was shellshocked and quiet when he finally fell asleep those first few days, but by the time the Sanbutsushin ordered Sanzo to keep him, he’d begun bursting into tears a couple of hours like clockwork after he’d gone to bed every night. The racket made Sanzo long for the days when he’d only heard the kid’s voice in his head; Goku howling just as Sanzo was getting to sleep nearly drove him mad. His earlier voice had spoken of longing, of freedom; this one spoke of wordless anguish. 

It took several days of sleep-deprived grouchiness before Sanzo thought to seek advice from the woman who helped with the laundry, a grandmother three times over. According to her, Goku was probably experiencing night terrors. “Get into bed and snuggle him until he calms down,” she suggested, although she looked doubtful that Sanzo would take her advice. 

Goku’s bed was too small for Sanzo's now adult-sized frame, but he was so tired that he’d fall asleep and stay until morning if he got in it. That wasn’t something he wanted either of them to get used to. However, letting Goku into his bed instead had its own drawbacks.

A fresh set of howls broke the tranquility of the rooms assigned to Sanzo, disrupting his thoughts. Sanzo slipped into the small cell formerly assigned to his personal attendant but now occupied by Goku, grateful that a sturdy wooden door separated his suite from the rest of the monastery. Otherwise the monkey’s cries would bring the other monks scurrying, offering to exorcise the little demon but in reality only increasing Sanzo’s ire.

When the terrors began, he dragged the chair he’d brought there as a concession to Goku’s weakness to his bedside and sat there, fingers raking through Goku’s spiky hair and bumping up against the metal of Goku’s limiter. He leaned forward, patting his shoulder and whispering soothing words in Goku’s ear through gritted teeth, all the while wondering whether he was doing any good. Time seemed to go on forever until the child whose hair he was stroking finally slumped backward, snoring. 

Sanzo never knew what set these terrors off. Goku didn’t seem to remember them afterward, so he didn’t ask. He could only assume that it was the lingering effect of Goku’s imprisonment, or maybe a subconscious memory of whatever had caused him to be imprisoned in the first place. Not that it was Sanzo’s business anyway. As Goku grew older, these bouts of uncontrollable sobbing became less frequent until they stopped altogether not long after his leap of faith following Sanzo out of the window of the room where he’d sat curled in on himself, frightened of the quiet snow covering the temple like a shroud.

* * *

Shortly after they began the journey west, Goku realized that Sanzo wasn’t getting enough sleep. It was obvious even when they weren’t rooming together. The skin under Sanzo’s eyes sagged, making them seem even droopier than usual, and he was paler than the soiled sheets covering the inn’s lumpy mattresses.

Goku snuck a cup of coffee behind everyone’s back after dinner the next time he and Sanzo shared a room so he could stay awake long enough to figure out what was the matter. Once in bed, he alternated between shallow, even breaths and snoring to fool Sanzo into thinking he was asleep. 

As soon as Sanzo’s breathing evened out, he sat up slowly, feet dangling over the side of the bed. His heart lurched when he heard Sanzo snort; he wondered if this meant smoking was affecting Sanzo’s lungs the way Hakkai said it would. He sort of hoped it was Sanzo’s lungs that were the problem, though, because that was something Hakkai could fix. Other things were less easy to deal with. 

The snort was soon followed by the licking of lips and movement from side to side. Then Sanzo raised a hand as if to stop a blow and muttered under his breath. Goku leaned closer, but all he could make out was a faint “Don’t leave me.” 

Sanzo had never talked about it, but Goku knew that the priest who had raised him and given him his scripture had been horribly murdered in Sanzo’s presence. Watching Sanzo twitch and listening to him plead, he knew that Sanzo was reliving his master’s death. He reached out and touched Sanzo’s shoulder as he didn’t know what else to do. 

Sanzo jerked awake and glared at him as much as someone with his eyes screwed tightly shut could. “Get your hands off of me,” he croaked. 

Goku shook him lightly. Sanzo’s frown deepened. “You were having a nightmare,” Goku said. 

“I don’t have nightmares.” 

Goku knew better, and he knew better than to let Sanzo bamboozle him into backing down. “Yes, you do,” he said. 

What should he do? Goku had known for a long time that what he felt toward Sanzo extended far beyond mere gratitude or affection, but he’d kept it bottled up. Now was as good a time as any to let it out. So he seized the bull by the horns, leaned over, and kissed Sanzo on the forehead. Sanzo squirmed away and slapped at him like he was an annoying insect.

“Look, Sanzo,” Goku said in a reasonable tone of voice, “either ya let me help ya or I fetch Hakkai.” He counted on Sanzo’s desire not to bother Hakkai with what he saw as petty stuff to get him to back down. 

Sanzo huffed and made a face. “Stop bothering me,” he said irritably. “I can get back to sleep, but only if you leave me the fuck alone.” But that hadn’t been working so far. Goku didn’t think it was worth trying again. 

Goku climbed into Sanzo’s bed, offering no explanation. When Sanzo pushed him away and wouldn’t move over, he clambered over Sanzo to the other side and lay on his side top of the covers. There was just enough room for him in the space between Sanzo’s back and the wall. 

Sanzo sighed and rolled away, easing into an unresponsive state after a few minutes. The sound of his soft breathing was music to Goku’s ears. Just before dozing off, Goku lazily stretched an arm over Sanzo’s back, pinning Sanzo to the bed. Sanzo was either too asleep or too comfortable to object.

* * *

From where he was lying not more than two feet away, Sanzo heard Goku sob “I’ll be good. Just don’t put me in that cage again” before his shrieks woke the rest of them. Sanzo shook him awake and ordered everyone else back to sleep before lighting a cigarette and settling cross-legged on top of his bedroll so he could keep an eye on the troublesome monkey. Goku ducked his head, looking sheepish.

Sanzo had thought that Goku had outgrown nightmares about his stay on Mt. Gogyou. Maybe they’d had returned now that they were close to Houtou and the Minus Wave, or some other devilry, was affecting him. If true, that didn’t bode well for the final showdown. 

Goku fidgeted, opened his mouth, shut it, and fidgeted some more. Finally, he said, “’M hungry.”

“You’re always hungry, monkey,” Sanzo retorted, puffing on his cigarette stub and flicking the ashes onto the dirt. 

“But ‘m awake and hungry,” Goku complained. “An’ I can’t get back ta sleep without somethin’ ta eat.”

Sanzo wasn’t eager to ransack their rations or wake Hakkai up again after having just sent him back to bed. “Come here, monkey,” he said gruffly, patting a spot on the bedroll next to where he sat. He ground out his cigarette. 

Goku crawled over and sat down, keeping an inch or two of distance between them. The thought of Goku reliving his captivity, even if only in his sleep, got Sanzo to pull Goku toward him until he was tucked up against Sanzo’s right side. 

“Wha--?” Goku sputtered. 

Sanzo placed a silencing finger on Goku’s lips, then leaned over and kissed him. It was all Sanzo could think of to distract Goku from his nightmare-induced hunger. Besides, Sanzo had put up with Goku staring at him when he thought Sanzo wasn’t looking and shifting his bedroll during the night until they were side by side long enough. He might as well let Goku know his interest hadn’t gone unnoticed or unreciprocated, although Sanzo wasn’t willing to admit to it in the light of day, not even to himself. 

Goku’s mouth opened, warm and eager, inviting him in. He pressed his chest against Sanzo’s and wound his arms around Sanzo’s neck, hanging off him like a … goddamn monkey. 

Sanzo lay back, pulling Goku down on top of him as he went. He could feel Goku’s hardness pressing against him. He saw a look of glee spread over Goku’s face as he ground against him, clueing Sanzo in that he’d noticed that Sanzo was equally as hard. 

Sanzo told his better judgment to fuck off as he snuck his hand between them and rubbed the ridge of Goku’s cock. What they were doing was stupid and ill-advised, and something he’d never done with anyone else. But if death was staring them in the face, they might as well live life to the fullest first. 

Sanzo moved his hand from Goku’s cock to his butt and returned to unrestrained rutting, hoping that dry-humping alone would be enough to extinguish the fire that had begun to flicker within him. He dreaded getting naked and rubbing their dicks together – forget anything more advanced -- but he had no desire to examine why. 

The longer they rubbed off, the harder they rocked against each other, grunting and sweating and gasping for breath. Sanzo’s groin felt like a furnace; his cock ached so badly that he knew that the lightest of touches would hurt once he came. Keeping their clothes on no longer seemed a viable option. 

Sanzo began undoing Goku’s pants. Goku took the hint and quickly ditched them. He sat back to let Sanzo shuck off his own pants. Then Sanzo removed the last barrier between them by yanking Goku’s underwear down, exposing his swollen cock. 

Goku got back on top of Sanzo and Sanzo held him for a moment, familiarizing himself with what it felt like to press skin against skin. Since Goku’s body (mostly) covered his, Sanzo didn’t feel as exposed as he’d feared he would. 

Sanzo wrapped his hand around their cocks, smearing pre-come together, and started a rough, fast stroke. Goku thrust time with the strokes. This made it harder to coordinate, but helped fan the flames of the fire inside Sanzo. 

Just as Sanzo noticed the tightness in his balls and abdomen that signaled oncoming orgasm, Goku’s cock pulsed and he came, spilling semen over Sanzo’s hand and abdomen. Sanzo continued stroking, smearing come with his fingers, until an orgasm that was nearly painful in its intensity was wrenched from him. 

Goku collapsed on his chest, snoring. Sanzo’s lips twitched into a fleeting smile while he lit a post-coital cigarette. Maybe this sex thing wouldn’t turn out to be as much trouble as he’d thought.


End file.
